Karma
by MaxCale
Summary: Dudley hasn't thought about his cousin Harry in years, but they're about to be reunited and some buried secrets are going to surface.
1. History Repeats Itself

Dudley Dursley was just about to sit down and have breakfast with his family. Dudley and his wife Anna had three children: Joseph had just turned eleven, Diana was nine and a half, and Simon was eight and a half. Dudley's parents were visiting and the family was gathered at the breakfast table as though it were any other ordinary summer morning.

"Joseph, go and fetch the post," Dudley said to his son as he took his seat. Joseph went to do as his father asked and soon returned handing the small stack of mail to his father before returning to his seat. Dudley quickly glanced through the mail, silently handing Joseph a letter that was addressed to him as he continued sifting through the mail.

"Anything important, dear?" Anna asked him.

"Not really. A couple of bills and some other rubbish," Dudley informed her nonchalantly as he placed the small stack of post on the table beside him and picked up his mug of coffee. He turned towards his son to ask about his letter and noticed an odd expression on Joseph's face. "What is it, son?" Joseph handed his letter to his father.

"I think someone's trying to prank me, dad," he explained, confusion still on his face. Dudley took the letter being held out to him and the first line made the blood drain from his face. He was so shocked by what he was seeing that he dropped his mug and it tumbled over, spilling coffee on the table, before bouncing off the edge and crashing to the dining room floor. Anna and his parents were quickly alarmed.

"Dudley, what is it!?" Anna asked, her voice panicky, thinking her husband was having some sort of fit. Dudley turned to his parents, his face white as a sheet and his eyes full of surprise and panic.

"He's got Harry's letter," he said simply. His parents both paled and his mother gave a shriek before bursting into sobs.

"No, no, no! Not my grandson! Not my grandson! Oh, Vernon!" she wailed as she flung herself into her husband's arms. Vernon quickly snapped out of his shock in order to comfort his wife.

"There, there, Petunia. He won't be going. We'll put a stop to this nonsense, you'll see," he reassured her, throwing his son a pointed look. The rest of Dudley's family had no idea how a simple letter could cause such a ruckus. Anna looked away from her mother-in-law's sobbing form towards her husband, now completely confused.

"Dudley, what one **earth** is going on? What's in that letter and who is Harry?" Dudley sighed and hung his head. He was quiet for a moment and then he took a deep breath.

"Harry is my cousin, the son of my mum's sister. He got a letter just like this," he said, raising up the letter he was still holding, "because he was born a wizard." Petunia wailed even louder and then continued sobbing while Vernon growled his annoyance at hearing the word 'wizard.' Dudley's family wasn't quite sure they understood what Dudley had just said.

"You mean like a magician? Why does being able to do magic tricks make gran and granddad so upset?" his daughter asked him curiously. Dudley sighed and gave his daughter a small smile.

"Pumpkin, there're illusions performed by magicians and then there's **real** magic, things that definitely **aren't** illusions, that wizards and witches can do. **This** is the type of magic my cousin and his parents can do and this," he said while raising the letter again, "is the school where witches and wizards go to learn about their kind of magic." The kitchen was silent for several minutes, the only sounds being those of Petunia's quite sniffles and Vernon's hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. Anna was the first to speak.

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" she asked, shock, surprise and hurt clearly evident in her tone and facial expression. Dudley looked at his wife with a sigh.

"Mum and dad were ashamed that she was related to people with the abnormal ability to do real magic. She and dad don't like any funny business and having abnormal relatives definitely wasn't normal so we just didn't talk about it or tell anyone." Joseph suddenly spoke up, his voice hurt and slightly panicky. He looked at his grandparents.

"Are you gonna think I'm abnormal now? 'Cuz I got this letter?" Vernon and Petunia glanced at each other and shared a look. This was something they hadn't counted on. Petunia looked at her eldest grandson pensively. Could she really stop loving her grandson? When they didn't answer right away Joseph looked back at his father, tears in his eyes. "What if I just don't go?" Dudley looked stunned at the question. Could his son simply not go? What would happen if he didn't? He looked at his parents and, seeing their confused, thoughtful expressions, Dudley came to a decision. He turned back towards his son.

"Joseph, regardless of what your grandparents do or say, your mum and I will always love you no matter what. As for going to this school or not, I want you to go. If my cousin hadn't been a wizard, I could've died when I was sixteen; he used his magic to save me so abnormal or not, I think magic's a good thing." Dudley narrowed his eyes and glared at his parents, who were suddenly looking at him with shocked expressions. Anna gasped and ran to hug her husband, tears in her eyes. She still didn't understand exactly what her husband had just revealed to her but the thought of never meeting him, marrying him and raising a family with him suddenly filled her with fear and she was just happy he was alive.

"Oh, Dudley! You could've died!?" Dudley seemed a little surprised by his wife's reaction to his previous statement but he hugged her back anyway and tried to reassure her.

"It was years ago, my dear. And I'm quite alright as you can see," he told her with a loving smile, earning a smile and a kiss from her in return. She wiped the tears from her face and turned toward Joseph.

"If real magic can save lives then I think you should go to this school too," she said firmly. Joseph looked at his grandparents hesitantly and Petunia sighed.

"It's alright, dear. I never expected my grandchildren to be like my sister but then again I didn't expect my sister to be a witch either. You're my grandson and I love you. It'll just take me some time to get used to the idea; I haven't had the best experiences with magic in the past," she assured him with a sad smile a she fidgeted nervously. Vernon sighed next to his wife and simply nodded his head. If accepting these ruddy magic people would make his wife happy then he'd go along with it. Joseph sighed with relief.

"So what's this magic school like?" Simon asked, tucking into his forgotten breakfast once more. Dudley shrugged.

"I don't know. Mum and dad didn't allow talk of Harry's school when he was home for the summer so I don't know anything about it," he admitted. Joseph's brows furrowed.

"Well then how am I supposed to get there?" Before Dudley could answer, an owl swooped in through the open kitchen window and deposited a letter in front of Dudley before promptly swooping back out again. Petunia wanted to shriek again but held it in for her grandson's sake. Dudley promptly opened it and began to read aloud.

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,_

_A representative from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be at your residence this afternoon to help facilitate your child's acceptance of the Hogwarts invitation he has received._

_Sincerely,_

_Neville Longbottom_

_Deputy Headmaster_

Joseph looked up at his parents and Anna nodded her head.

"I guess we'll just wait until this representative arrives and we'll ask him or her our questions." The family quietly finished their breakfast, everyone lost in their own thoughts.


	2. Reaching Out

The Dursleys anxiously puttered around the house for several hours. The children had gone upstairs to play, but they were actually trying to imagine what going to a school to learn about magic would actually be like and try to figure out how to tell if any of the other kids were wizards or witches as well. Anna was trying to work off her nervous energy by straightening up around the house. Dudley, Vernon and Petunia were quietly whispering among themselves in the living room, trying to remember everything they could about Harry's world now that they were going to, sort of, be a part of it.

At 12:30 sharp the doorbell rang. Silence fell over the adults as the children all rushed down the stairs to the living room and waited with baited breath to meet a real live witch or wizard. Dudley rose from his armchair on shaky legs and made his way to the front door. When he opened it he found a woman with a kind face smiling back at him. He would never have guessed that she was a witch were it not for the dappled grey owl sitting on her shoulder.

"Are you Mr. Dudley Dursley?" Dudley's heart rate began to quicken as he nodded. "My name is Gertrude Tuffles and I'm here on behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Dudley silently nodded and held the door open for her so she could enter. Gertrude waited until Dudley had closed the door and then followed him towards the living room. She was a little surprised to see that he had guests. "Mr. Dursley, I need to speak to you, your wife and your son in private."

"There's no need," Dudley informed her. "My mum's sister was a witch and my cousin, who's a wizard, lived with us after his parents died." Gertrude smiled.

"Very well then. Perhaps I won't need to take up too much of your time. Why don't we start by you telling me what you already know about Hogwarts and our world then I'll just fill in the gaps. How does that sound?" she asked with a smile. Dudley nodded and everyone made themselves comfortable in the living room.

"So, what do you know about Hogwarts and our world?" she asked pleasantly.

"Not much, actually. All I can really remember is that my cousin went away to school every year at the start of September and we wouldn't see him again until the end of the term. I do remember that people like him send post by owls, you have your own prison, your candies aren't normal, and there are some pretty scary magic creatures that you need magic to make go away," Dudley answered. At Gertrude's questioning and surprised expression Dudley explained his answer. "My parents didn't want people to know we were living with a wizard so while he was here we didn't talk about his world unless we had to." Gertrude nodded in understanding.

"I see that you know witches and wizards are sometimes born to muggle parents and that it's very important that we keep our presence hidden from muggles as much as possible, simply to avoid unnecessary problems. Unfortunately, avoiding all discussion of our world while your cousin was home didn't really prepare you to be a parent of a muggle-born wizard," she explained with a smile. "It's true your family will need to keep the fact that Joseph is a wizard a secret from other friends and loved ones but among the seven of you, you should feel free to discuss our world so that the rest of you can and will understand it somewhat." Everyone nodded their heads in understanding. Gertrude opened the small pouch she had slung over her shoulder and pulled out a small piece of parchment and handed it to Joseph, who took it tentatively.

"Enclosed in Joseph's letter was a list of needed school supplies. Written there is the address of the location in London where you can go to purchase these items, as well as how to access the location. You'll need to go with Joseph because only witches and wizards can see the establishment; it has magical protections on it that keep muggles from being able to see it in the first place."

"What's a muggle?" Diana asked. Gertrude smiled at her.

"It's our word for non-magic people, such as your parents and grandparents," Gertrude explained with a gentle smile. She looked at Dudley and Anna. "Once you've arrived the first stop you'll need to make is to Gringotts, the wizards' bank, to change your muggle money into wizard currency. Now, I know you probably have lots of other questions you'd like to ask me, but it's best to let yourselves and your child learn about our world gradually. However, do you have any pressing questions you'd like me to answer before I go?" Anna tried to organize her thoughts and determine what questions were most pressing but Dudley had just one.

"I haven't seen or spoken to my cousin since he came of age in your world. Since my son is going to be part of his world, how would I go about contacting him if I don't know where he lives?" Dudley asked.

"You may borrow my owl to send him a letter if you'd like." Dudley quickly rose and went to retrieve a note tablet and pen to write Harry a short letter. He quickly folded it and looked up at Gertrude.

"How do I address it since I don't know where it's going?"

"Just write your cousin's name on the letter and tell the owl who it's going to. She'll get it to him." Dudley looked skeptical but decided to trust this woman anyway. He quickly wrote Harry's name on it and handed it to the owl.

"This is going to my cousin Harry Potter," he said clearly as he handed the letter to the owl. Gertrude gasped while her owl took the letter in her beak and flew off.

"Harry Potter's your cousin!?" she asked, her voiced filled with wonder and surprise. Dudley turned towards her with his brow furrowed at her reaction, but nodded anyway. "Oh, my!"

"What?" Simon asked as he looked between Gertrude and his father. "What's so shocking?" Gertrude answered him.

"Harry Potter's the most famous wizard of our age!"

"Why?" Diana asked. Gertrude looked down at her quizzically.

"I don't think I should be the one to explain that to you my dear." Diana looked at her father questioningly but he simply shrugged his shoulders and gave her a look that clearly said 'I don't know.' Gertrude stood up. "I'll be going now." She looked directly as Joseph. "I'll see you in September." Dudley escorted her to the front door, his family following. They stepped out on the front porch and watched her walk down the street. When she reached the end she turned back towards their house, waved, spun around and vanished into thin air with a smile. The family stood there for a moment, stunned, before slowly filing back into the house. Meanwhile Harry was at home reading through some reports in his study when an owl tapped on the window. Harry didn't recognize the owl but opened the window will with a flick of his wand anyway. The owl deposited a letter and then swopped out. Harry opened it and his eyes widened in surprise as he read.

_Dear Cousin,_

_My son received a letter from Hogwarts this morning and a woman from the school stopped by to help answer some questions. I told her I hadn't spoken to you in some time and didn't know how to reach you and she said I could use her owl to send you this letter. My wife and I have quite a few questions and I was wondering if you'd be willing to come by for dinner and chat with us._

Harry had to reread the letter several times before it sank in. Dudley's son is a wizard!? Dudley had included his address and telephone number and Harry quickly pulled out a map. Harry knew the area where Dudley was living so he knew exactly where to apparated to. But first, he needed to tell Ginny. He quickly made his way to the kitchen where Kreacher and Ginny were finishing the preparations for lunch.

"Gin, you'll never guess who I just got a letter from."

"Who?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her task.

"Dudley." Ginny whipped her head towards Harry with a stunned expression. Harry chuckled and handed her the letter. She quickly scanned it and looked at Harry uncertainly. He had filled her in some time ago about what his years with the Dursleys had really been like and she knew that he still held ill will towards his uncle, even though he'd come to understand his aunt's point of view and he and his cousin had parted on somewhat friendly terms.

"Are you sure you wanna go?" Harry wrapped his arms around her.

"Dudley wouldn't have been able to send that without the help of a witch or wizard's owl and he wouldn't have reached out to me if he didn't mean to. So yes, I'm gonna go." He gave his wife a quick reassuring peck on the lips before releasing her and walking over to their telephone. Even though they could do magic, Harry still enjoyed some muggle conveniences and their home was a unique blend of magical and muggle elements. Harry picked up the phone and dialed Dudley's number. It rang twice before a young girl answered it.

"Dursley residence, Diana speaking" the girl responded brightly.

"Hello, Diana. Is your father available?"

"May I ask whose calling?" she asked politely.

"This is his cousin Harry." He heard her gasp and drop the phone. A split second latter he heard her shouting.

"DAD! DAD! YOUR COUSIN HARRY'S ON THE PHONE! WIZARDS STILL USE TELEPHONES?" Harry chuckled and waited as he heard feet running towards the phone.

"Hello? Hello? Harry?" came Dudley's anxious voice over the telephone. Harry chuckled again.

"Hello, Dudley. Yes, it's me. I got your letter moments ago and I'm calling to say I can drop by this evening." Before Harry could say anything else there was a loud screech from above Harry's head.

"GIVE IT BACK, JAMES, OR I'LL PUT YOU IN A FULL BODY BIND!" came the sound of his youngest son's voice, followed quickly by his daughter's screech.

"MUM! THEY'RE AT IT AGAIN!" Harry rolled his eyes and sighed as Ginny did likewise and marched upstairs to sort out her sons.

"What time should I come over?" Harry asked with exasperation only for Dudley to be interrupted by Joseph's voice.

"Ask him to come over now, dad! Please?" Joseph was soon joined in his pleading by his younger siblings and Harry chuckled.

"Uh, Harry…" Dudley began.

"I heard. Just let me help sort out my sons and then I'll pop over. See you in a bit," Harry told him and then hung up. Dudley passed along Harry's message while Harry climbed the stairs to see what all the trouble was about upstairs. After discovering that James was simply tormenting his younger brother for kicks, again, Ginny put a pairing charm on them so that they would be stuck together until they figured out how to get along. Harry informed Ginny he was heading off to see Dudley, kissed her goodbye and then apparated to a small forest clearing several blocks from Dudley's house. He quickly walked to Dudley's house and knocked on the door. A young boy who was the spitting image of Dudley, albeit much more trim, answered the door. His face lit up expectantly when he saw Harry.

"Are you my dad's cousin Harry?" he asked excitedly. Harry smiled and nodded and the boy opened the door wider while yelling to the rest of the house "HE'S HERE! HE'S HERE!" Harry followed him into the living room where he came face to face with his aunt and uncle. What made him stop in his tracks is that they looked scared and their eyes were almost pleading with Harry to be nice to them. He didn't have a chance to ask them what was going on with them as two more children quickly came bounding down the stairs excitedly and Dudley and his wife emerged from the kitchen, the latter carrying a tea tray. Dudley smiled at him as he walked over and then extended his hand.

"Long time no see cousin." Harry shook his hand and smiled back.

"Long time no see." Everyone took a seat, the children sitting or lying on the floor near Harry, tea the furthest thing from their minds. Dudley chuckled at his children's eager faces and then made the introductions.

"This is my wife Anna and these are our children. Joseph got his Hogwarts letter this morning, Diana is nine and a half, and Simon is eight and a half." Harry looked at the children with a smile.

"Pleased to meet you all." The children momentarily forgot their manners and jumped right in with questions, one after the other.

"What kind of magic can wizards do? And what kind did you do to save our dad's life?"

"Where's Hogwarts and how do you get there?"

"What do wizards and witches do all day?"

"Do your kids do magic?"

"Why do wizards send post by owl but still use the telephone? What's your house look like?"

"Do you know where muggle-borns come from? Can you tell me if I'm a witch or wizard yet?" Harry put up his hands to halt the questions but he was also laughing.

"Alright. Let's start with me. I'm married to a wonderful witch, we have three children, and all of them can do magic. No one knows how muggle-borns come about but the only way to know if a child can do magic is if they do something magical by accident when they're scared or upset. Witches and wizards have jobs just like any other muggle except our jobs are related to our world. For example, I'm an Auror, that's like a police detective, and our world also has news reporters, doctors and nurses, teachers, shop keepers, athletes, etc., they just have different names. As for owls and telephones, very few witches and wizards use muggle devices. However, since I was raised my muggles and know about them, I've chosen to incorporate some muggle things, like a telephone, into my home. Most magical families don't have any muggle devices at all. And finally, as for Hogwarts, I'm not entirely sure exactly where it is on the map but in the wizarding world exact locations aren't all that important because once you've been somewhere or you know what some place is called you can always find a way to get there."

"So most wizards don't have things like a tele or radios?" Joseph asked quizzically.

"We have radios, they're just not plugged into anything. The wizarding world as a whole doesn't use electricity so there are incantations that allow the radios to pick up the wizarding station frequencies you wanna hear."

"But how on earth do you get on without electricity?" Anna asked. Harry chuckled.

"When you can magically ignite a fire in a fireplace, create orbs of light that will float in the air or turn your wand into an instant flashlight that won't go out until you tell it to, there's really no need for electricity. Especially when fire or torch light is both bright and keeps you warm," Harry explained.

"But what about cooking and cleaning?" Anna asked, still not convinced she could live without electricity.

"We simply use fire to cook our meals. Just image cooking on a gas stove but without needing to turn the gas on to ignite the flame. And as for cleaning, there are spells we can cast on objects to have them clean themselves so there's no need for vacuum cleaners and such." The Dursley children's faces lit up with excitement.

"Oh can we please see your house sometime? Please?" Diana begged. Anna looked at her daughter disapprovingly.

"Diana, it's rude to invite yourself to someone else's home." Diana looked at her mother and then hung her head as she blushed. Harry chuckled.

"I don't see why not, although my wife might be a little surprised to see you all since I don't have time to let her know you're all dropping by."

"Could we stay for dinner?" Simon asked hopefully.

"Simon! Did you not hear what I just told your sister?" Anna started reprovingly. Simon bit his bottom lip and blushed. Harry laughed.

"Let's play it by ear. Shall we go?" The Dursleys, including Petunia and Vernon, quickly donned jackets and made their way out of the house. They waited while Dudley locked the door and then they walked back to the little forest clearing Harry had arrived at. Harry stopped and turned to face his relatives. "Alright. We're going to travel by what's called side along apparition. It's not very pleasant but it's the fastest way for us all to travel at the moment." Everyone nodded in understanding. Harry bent his arms and held them away from his body about waist high. "Everyone grab ahold." He made sure everyone had a hand on him and then he apparated them to his home.


	3. Family Luncheon

Harry reappeared on his front porch. He waited several moments until the effects of apparating wore off and everyone was steady on their feet before opening the front door. He allowed his relatives to enter ahead of him into the foyer. Once he closed the door, everyone followed him into the living room and stopped to gaze at the sight before them with awe. Harry's home had wood floors and dark wood wall paneling, but not so dark that the home felt gloomy. Then again, the large windows might have helped keep the home feeling light and airy. There was a slightly curved staircase along one wall that lead to the upstairs and beneath the stairs was an opening that led to the drawing room. In the wall near the base of the staircase was another opening that revealed a library. At the far end of the living room was an open archway that led to the dining room and in the right wall of the living room was another door; this one led to the basement where Harry's office was. The walls of the house were decorated with paintings and picture frames. The fireplace was filled with picture frames as well and a large painting of Harry and his family was centered above it.

"How'd you do that!?" exclaimed Joseph as he pointed to the painting. "Everyone's moving!"

"There are incantations painters say while painting their subjects so that the personality and spirit of the people or objects being painted is captured in the painting. That allows them to move around. We also have a special solution that film can be developed in that likewise allows people and objects in photographs to move," Harry explained while pointing towards the many pictures displayed on the fireplace mantle. The Dursleys eagerly moved towards it to examine the photos, Vernon and Petunia moving much more slowly as though afraid someone might jump out of a frame and attack them. There was a scuffle behind Harry and he turned just in time to see his sons, still charmed together, trying to walk down the stairs. His eldest took a stair a little faster than his youngest and they tripped. Harry quickly transformed the stairs into a slide and conjured pillows at the base of the stairs to cushion their fall. The boys landed with an audible 'oomph' and then Harry restored the staircase; he didn't vanish the cushions until the boys managed to pull themselves upright. The boys turned towards their father and froze in their tracks, surprised to see that they had guests. Harry called out for the rest of his family to make the formal introductions.

"Ginny, Lilly, could you come into the living room for a moment." Ginny came out of kitchen and walked through the dining room as Lilly happily bounded down the stairs. They likewise froze when they saw that they had guest, but Ginny, knowing who some of them were, frowned. Harry quickly introduced everyone, hoping to quickly soothe his wife's irritation. "Everyone, this is my Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Cousin Dudley," he stated while pointing to each person in turn. "This is his wife Anna and these are their children Joseph, Diana, and Simon. Joseph got a Hogwarts letter this morning." Lilly was the first to speak and she did so with a smile.

"Lovely! So I'll have another cousin who'll be in my year when school starts!" she exclaimed happily. At Joseph's confused look she explained. "I'll be starting at Hogwarts this year too along with my cousin Hugo." Harry looked at Ginny and silently apologized for springing everyone on her the way he had and she silently communicated that she understood.

"Why don't we all have some lunch," Ginny said to the room before turning on her heel to head to the kitchen. Harry led his relatives to the dining room and everyone made themselves comfortable. Ginny and Kreacher walked in moments later, levitating platters of roast beef sandwiches and fruit, a bowl of chips, pitchers of pumpkin juice and iced tea, and a large pot of au jus sauce to the table. Ginny took pity on her sons and separated them so that they could eat more comfortably.

"Don't think this means your punishment is over," she told them with her eyes narrowed. "You'll be stuck together as soon as lunch is over." Her sons groaned but Harry cleared his throat and gave his sons a pointed look which ended their groaning quickly. Everyone tucked into their lunch and made polite conversation that mainly consisted of asking each other their favorite foods and hobbies simply as a way to get to know each other. When their lunch was finished, everyone helped clear the table.

"Would you like any help cleaning up?" Anna asked Ginny. Ginny smiled at her and shook her head.

"That's alright," she stated and then waved her wand at the sink. Anna and her children gasped when the dishes in the sink began washing themselves. Kreacher snapped his fingers and the leftovers began to put themselves away as well.

"Kreacher can finish so Mistress can entertain her guest," Kreacher told Ginny.

"Thank you, Kreacher," Ginny said and then ushered Anna and the rest of her stunned guests towards the drawing room. The walls in this room featured fewer pictures and paintings but lovely rugs and comfortable sofas and armchairs. True to her word, Ginny stuck her sons back together once they were in the drawing room and they awkwardly climbed onto one of the loveseats while Lilly comfortably sat next to her mother. Joseph spoke up quickly.

"I think magic is brilliant! Will I learn how to do what you and your wife have done so far toady while I'm at school? And why'd Ginny stick them together" Ginny smiled at his eagerness and Harry chuckled.

"It'll be a few years before you can master the transfiguration and conjuring I did on the staircase and as for them," Harry glanced in his sons' direction, "they weren't getting along today so Ginny decided to stick them together until they learned how." The boys pouted and looked at the floor. Anna cleared her throat.

"Harry?" He looked away from his sons to face her.

"Yes?"

"What exactly do wizards study at Hogwarts? Is it just magic spells that you do by waving a stick around, like you and your wife have done?"

"There's a lot more to magic than waving a wand," he explained while removing his from up his sleeve. "All students start out Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Flying Lessons, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, and Transfiguration classes."

"What's transfiguration?" Diana asked curiously.

"And why do kids need to take defense lessons!?" Anna asked in a slightly more worried tone.

"Transfiguration is the art of transforming one object into another," he said to Diana and then turned towards Anna once more. "And students study defenses against the dark arts because magic can be dangerous. Just like anything else in this world, magic can be used for good or evil. This class teaches students about the dangerous aspects of magic and how to protect themselves from it." Anna paled a little but Joseph was too curious to notice his mother's reaction.

"Like how?" Harry looked at Dudley and his cousin nodded.

"Years ago creatures known as dementors used to guard Azkaban, the wizard prison. These creatures are dreadful and make you feel as if you'll never be happy again. Their simple presence makes the air frigid and your skin sweaty and clammy. If you anger a dementor it will perform what's known as the dementor's kiss in which they bring their mouth close to yours and suck out your soul." Anna shrieked and Dudley put this arm around her. The Dursley children meanwhile began fidgeting uncomfortably. "The bad news is that while you can live without your soul, you'll simply be an empty shell of a person for the rest of your life. The good news is that there's a charm you can perform to repel a dementor before it can perform its kiss and you'll learn how to perform this charm in Defense Against the Dark Arts class." Anna sighed with relief.

"Have you ever repelled a dementor?" Simon asked. Harry nodded.

"On several occasions, including the night I saved your dad from one." The Dursley and Potter children quickly swiveled their eyes to look between Dudley and Harry.

"What happened?" Albus asked eagerly.

"Someone who worked at the Ministry of Magic didn't like me very much and sent a dementor to kill me. What she didn't know was that I knew the charm to repel it. Unfortunately, Dudley happened to be with me when it attacked. The problem is that while muggles can feel the effects a dementor causes, they can't see them so I simply told him that no matter what keep his mouth closed until I could summon a patronus and drive it away from him." All six children gasped in awe but a thought suddenly came to Diana.

"Does that mean that there are some magical monsters that only wizards can see?" Harry nodded. Diana's eyes widened and she turned towards her elder brother. "When you learn about creatures that you can see but we can't you better tell us all about them so we can drive them off if you aren't around to do it." Kreacher suddenly appeared with a tray loaded with coffee and a pot of tea and placed it on the coffee table. Simon looked at him quizzically.

"What kind of creature is that cousin Harry?" Simon asked while pointing at Kreacher.

"Kreacher is a house elf. House elves possess their own very powerful magic and are bound to serve one wizard family for their entire lives unless they are either freed by their master or willed to another." Silence ensured as the adults helped themselves to coffee and tea, giving the Dursley family some time to process what they'd just learned. The silence was too much for James and after several minutes he spoke up, directing his question to Ginny.

"Mum?"

"Yes?"

"Are you gonna leave us stuck when we go to Diagon Alley?" Ginny arched an eyebrow thoughtfully.

"Maybe," she said calmly, taking a sip of her tea. Her sons' mouths dropped open in shock.

"Mum!" Albus wailed. "That's just cruel!"

"Oh really? Then maybe the two of you should stop terrorizing each other," she told them firmly. They hung their heads in embarrassment while Ginny shook hers. "You two really are too much like your uncles and granddad Potter," she stated with an exasperated smile

"Could we stop and see Uncle George while we're there?" Albus asked hopefully. Ginny suddenly scowled.

"Oh no. The last thing we need is for you two to come away with objects you'll use to cause mischievous when school starts.

"Where's Diagon Alley?" Dudley asked curiously.

"It's where we go to get all the magical supplies we need as well as the necessary school supplies for our children," Harry informed him. Joseph quickly pulled out the slip of parchment Gertrude had given him.

"A woman named Gertrude came to our house and gave me this saying it's where I'm supposed to go to get my school things but it says to first go to a place called the Leaky Cauldron." He looked up at Harry quizzically and saw Harry nodding.

"It's a wizarding inn that has a gateway to Diagon Alley."

"She also said muggles can't see it. Is that true?" Again harry nodded. "Then how are my parents supposed to come shopping with me?" Harry chuckled.

"Not to worry. We can all go together."

"Can we go now?" Simon asked eagerly. Harry and Ginny shared a look.

"We were planning to go after lunch now that the Hogwarts letters have arrived so I don't see why not." The Dursley children cheered while James and Albus looked at their mother expectantly. Their pleading eyes made her chuckle. "Oh aren't you two just pathetic. Alright." She waved her wand and unstuck them. Everyone rose and made their way to the living room.

"How far is Diagon Alley from your house?" Anna asked.

"Quite a ways," Harry admitted, "but it doesn't matter as we'll be there in a few minutes since we'll be using the Floo network."

"The what?" Vernon asked, his curiosity getting the better of him and causing him to speak for the first time that afternoon.

"You'll see." Harry turned to Ginny. "You and the girls go first." Ginny nodded and stepped into the fireplace with Lilly. She motioned for Anna, Petunia and Diana to join her. They did so quizzically and Ginny took a fist full of floo power from the container next to the fireplace.

"Everyone join hands," she instructed and they quickly did so. "Diagon Alley," she said clearly and then tossed the powder. They quickly vanished in a whirl of green flames.

"Wicked!" Simon stated gleefully. Harry turned to his sons.

"You boys next and take Joseph and Simon with you." His sons quickly stepped into the fireplace, followed by their cousins.

"It's my turn to do it!" Albus declared when James reached for the powder. In an attempt to squash the fight before it could begin Harry interjected.

"Just let him do it, James." Albus took a fist full of powder and in a flash they were off. Harry stepped into the fireplace and motioned for Dudley and Vernon to join him. They joined hands and Harry followed his children. When they arrived Ginny was waiting with a small duster to brush the soot off of them. Once everyone was accounted for, Harry led the way to the back alley and tapped the appropriate brick.


	4. Diagon Alley

The Dursleys' mouths fell open as they watched an archway appear and remained open when they saw Diagon Alley for the first time. Harry smiled, remembering his reaction the first time he'd seen the Alley. Harry took his wife's hand and then looked at his sons.

"First step: Gringotts." He nodded to his sons and they led the way. It was slow going as the Dursley's kept stopping to examine each shop they passed and were bombarding Harry and Ginny with questions. Even though Vernon and Petunia were very uncomfortable at first, after several minutes, when they realized that not everything dealing with magic was going to jump out of the shadows and attack them, they began to slowly relax. When they finally arrived at Gringotts, Harry directed Dudley and Anna to a counter so they could exchange some money into wizard currency and then went to another counter to take money out of his vault. Meanwhile Joseph and his siblings were questioning Ginny and the Potter children about the bank.

"What are those?" Diana asked excitedly, pointing to the goblins.

"Goblins," Ginny explained. "Not the friendliest of creatures but incredibly bright and good with money." Dudley and Anna returned to the group with their wizard currency and Harry joined them shortly after. Ginny pulled her children's school lists out of her handbag and browsed it as they made their way out of the bank.

"I know this would go faster if we split up but as it's your cousin's family's first time here, why don't we do all the shopping together?" Ginny asked Harry.

"Sounds good. Where do you think we should start?" Ginny glanced back down at the lists.

"Let's start with the books." The group made their way to Flourish and Blotts to purchase the necessary school books. While the children went to collect them, Dudley, Anna, Petunia and Vernon browsed the unique titles. By the time the children had all the books they needed and were waiting in line to pay, their heads were swimming. Dudley turned to Harry.

"I always thought it was just a lot of you waving your wand and saying a bunch of funny words but it seems there's a lot more to magic than that." Harry smiled at his cousin's realization and nodded. It was almost their turn when Dudley realized something else and quickly turned back to Harry. "Harry! I don't know how to pay for the books. That, what was it? Goblin? Told me what the coins are called but…" Harry placed a reassuring hand on his cousin's shoulder.

"Not to worry, Dudley. The gold ones are called galleons, the silver ones are sickles and the bronze ones are knuts. It's 29 knuts to a sickle and seventeen sickles to a galleon." Dudley nodded in understanding, not entirely sure he'd remember all that. And sure enough, when he had to pay for Joseph's books, Harry helped him sort out the right types and amounts of coins. After a couple of hours Joseph and Lilly found themselves laden down with a cauldron, ink, quills, parchment, robes, astronomy supplies, a starter potions kit, and their very own magical wands while James and Albus had simply replenished their school supplies and gotten their new school books. While Dudley and Anna found everything they had seen and overheard that afternoon quite interesting, Vernon and Petunia had been relatively quiet for the better part of the shopping trip. Simon noticed and mentioned it as they were on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo to Harry's home.

"Are you alright gran and granddad?" Petunia gave her grandson a timid smile.

"Yes, dear, just a little overwhelmed." The trip would've ended with that comment where it not for a young wizard who happened to spot Harry and rush over, stretching out his arm for a handshake.

"Mr. Potter, my name is Garett Smyze and it's been my dream to be an auror since I was a young boy. I've read all about you since I started at Hogwarts and you've been an inspiration to me, sir." Harry smiled at the young man's eagerness and shook his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Smyze." Garett smiled back and gave a little bow before scurry off on his way. Suddenly Joseph remembered something Gertrude had told him.

"Ms. Gertrude said you were famous." Harry sighed and nodded as he reached the archway leading back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"Yeah," Albus agreed. "You never did tell us why people always look at you and seem to know you wherever you go." Ginny gave her husband's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"It's a long and unpleasant story, best kept for another time, and when you're much older." There was suddenly a protest from six children.

"Oh please, dad," Lilly begged. "Tell us the story." While the protest of his sons and cousins were easy to tune out, Harry had always had a soft spot for his daughter's pleading eyes, a look she had inherited from her mother and a look he was powerless to resist. Harry sighed in defeat.

"Alright. Let's go." Everyone flooed back to Potter Manor in the same groups that they had traveled there in.


	5. Slytherin's Legacy

Ginny instructed her children to go put their school purchases away while everyone else settled themselves comfortably in the living room and waited for them. As her children came back downstairs rather quickly, Ginny knew they had simply tossed their supplies in their trunks still wrapped but she'd let it slide for now. She had seated herself next to Harry so she could comfort him as he told the story. She and Harry shared a sympathetic look before he took a deep breath and launched into his story.

"The story begins centuries ago with the founding of Hogwarts. The school was founded by the four greatest wizards and witches of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. The four heads wanted to start a school where children with magical ability could have a safe place to master the craft. While students where there, each of the heads handpicked students who possessed abilities or character traits that they themselves valued. Godric selected students who were courageous; Rowena those with gifted minds; Salazar those with cunning or his own gift of being a pareselmouth, that's the ability to talk to snakes; and Helga those who were hardworking and loyal. Things progressed swimmingly until Salazar began declaring that magical learning should be the right of only all magical families. He believed that muggle-borns and half-bloods shouldn't be admitted to Hogwarts."

"What's a half-blood?" Joseph asked.

"At the time it referred to any witch or wizard with one magic and one non-magic parent but it later came to also include any witch or wizard with one magical human parent and one magical non-human as a parent."

"How's that even possible!?" Anna asked. Harry chuckled.

"It's possible for witches and wizards to marry and have children with certain types of magical beings such as elves, giants, and vela. As I was saying, the rift between Salazar and the other founders was so great that he left, but not before he'd created a secret chamber in the school and left within it a monster that his future heir would one day unleash and use to purge the school of those Salazar believed were unfit to study magic." Ginny shivered and Harry put a comforting arm around her as his daughter interrupted with a question.

"Is the monster still there?" Lilly asked nervously.

"What does any of this have to do with why you're famous?" James asked with boredom. Harry gave his son an exasperated look.

"I told you this was a long story. Now do you wanna know why people recognize me or not?" When Harry received no more interruptions he continued. "Now, in time a young man named Tom Marvolo Riddle was born to a young witch who was a distant descendant of Slytherin himself. She died shortly after giving birth to and naming Tom so her son grew up in an orphanage, not knowing he was a wizard until a professor from Hogwarts came to tell him. Once at Hogwarts, he searched old records to try to find out more about his family and discovered that he was a direct descendant of Slytherin and he started to adopt Salazar's beliefs, even though he'd discovered that his father was a muggle. Tom began exhibiting dark tendencies while at school but was clever enough to hide them. He did unleash Slytherin's monster and a young girl died but as the headmaster at the time was thinking of closing down the school because of it, Tom simply closed the secret chamber, not willing to risk having the school shut down before he could graduate."

"But is the monster still there?" Anna asked nervously. Harry gave her a reassuring smile.

"Yes and no. I killed it during my second year there and its skeleton is still in the chamber, as far as I know." The children and his relatives gasped.

"How'd you do that?" James asked excitedly.

"How come you could open the chamber? Are you Slytherin's relative too?" Simon asked.

"But how'd you end up in Gryffindor?" Lilly asked. Harry rolled his eyes and glanced at each of his children and his young cousins.

"Please hold all questions until the end. As I said before I began, this is a very long story." When the room was silent Harry continued. "When Tom left Hogwarts, he fell very deeply into the dark arts. Even though he was a bright and polite young man while at school, by the time he'd resurfaced from his travels, he'd undergone so many dark magical transformations and was calling himself by a new name that no one recognized him. He'd rearranged the letters of his name into the declaration 'I am Lord Voldemort'. He began to take Salazar's beliefs too far and killed anyway who didn't share his beliefs or stood in his way. He started to obtain followers who became known as death eaters and a twelve year war ensured." Anna gasped in fright. "It was dreadful and frightening. When death eaters killed someone, they left a magical mark above that location that became known as the dark mark. When a witch or wizard saw it, they knew someone had been killed. No one was sure just who they could trust and many went into hiding, including my parents."

"One night a death eater overheard a seer make a prophecy that concerned Voldemort. And since I can see curiosity on a lot of faces, yes, there's such a thing as seers and the prophecies they make are real. This particular prophecy stated that a child born at the end of July to parents who had thrice denied Voldemort would be his undoing. However, this death eater didn't hear the entire prophecy and when he told Voldemort about it, he made a snap decision. And I say that because there were actually two children born at the end of July whose parents had thrice denied Voldemort's offer to join him: myself and my good friend Neville." The Potter children gasped upon learning that their old family friend Neville Longbottom could've been a target of Voldemort's. "Believing the child in the prophecy was me, he decided to go after my parents. Now an old school mate of my dad, who he thought was trustworthy, became a death eater and told Voldemort where my parents were hiding. They didn't have time to escape. He killed my father and then came after my mother. She offered to let him kill her without a fuss as long as he let me live. He had no intentions of letting me live but because my mother sacrificed herself in order to save me, I was left with an ancient form of magical protection that Voldemort didn't count on, protection that left me with only a scar when the curse he used should've killed me on the spot." Harry lifted his hair to reveal his scar. "You see, the killing curse kills its target instantly but in this case, my mum's love for me left me with a protection that caused the curse to backfire and Voldemort vanished without a trace, or so everyone thought. It's because I lived when I should've died and that by living I somehow made Voldemort disappear that, before I was old enough to understand it, the entire wizarding world knew my name and labeled me The Boy Who Lived, but that's only part of why I'm famous."


	6. Petunia's Secrets

There was a stunned silence around the room but Harry continued.

"A great wizard named Albus Dumbledore recognized that I was protected because of my mum's sacrifice and did something to strengthen my protection: he brought me to live with my mum's sister and her family." Petunia and Vernon looked very alarmed and uncomfortable but Harry gave his aunt a reassuring smile. He knew what he was about to reveal would be unpleasant but it was part of the story and Harry couldn't change that. "Dumbledore added a form of magical protection that enhanced my mum's and made me invisible to Voldemort's followers. As long as I could call home the place where my mum's blood dwelled then I was invisible to them. The problem was that my aunt didn't want me there because she resented my mum." Petunia's daughter-in-law and grandchildren gasped and looked at her disapprovingly while Petunia suddenly found a spot on the carpet she couldn't seem to takes her eyes off of. "It's not her fault though." All eyes swiveled back to Harry, clouded with confusion. "Aunt Petunia knew her sister could do weird things long before her Hogwarts letter came. Mum especially liked jumping off swings and magically floating back down to the ground." Petunia gasped and looked up at Harry, wondering how he could possibly know that. "There was a boy in their neighborhood named Severus Snape that their mother had told them not to play with who had watched mum doing magical things and figured out she was a witch because he already knew he was a wizard." Petunia continued to look at Harry with shock, unsure how he could've uncovered any of this. "Now Snape fancied my mum and they spent quite a bit of time together talking about the wizarding world because Snape's mum was a witch. Aunt Petunia, probably out of either jealousy or curiosity, actually sent a letter to Dumbledore asking if she could go to Hogwarts as well." This time Dudley and Vernon gasped and looked at Petunia with shock, making her fidget uncomfortably and wring her hands in her lap; Harry pressed forward. "Snape had convinced my mum to read the letter with him and when Aunt Petunia found out that they had she became quite angry. In fact, I suspect that was the moment she began to actually loathe her younger sister." Harry looked at his aunt directly, even though she was still staring at her lap. "You hurt her you know. She curled up on a seat and had a good cry that you were angry with her," he quietly informed his aunt. Petunia finally looked up, guilt and shame written all over her face. She began to sniffle and Vernon reached over to hold her hand even though he was in shock that his normal wife had wanted to go to magic school. Harry took a deep breath and let it out slowly before continuing.

"When I was left on their doorstep the night my parents were murdered, my aunt and uncle feared I'd be a wizard like my parents and they decided to keep me as downtrodden as possible in an attempt to simply squash the magic out of me." Again the Dursley grandchildren gasped and stared at their grandparents while the Potter children turned disgusted glares on them; they were joined in their glaring by their mother. Harry rubbed her shoulder soothingly when he felt her tense beside him at his last statement. "It didn't work because magic isn't something you can simply get rid of; you're born with it and it comes out on its own unless you learn how to control it. On my eleventh birthday a staff member from Hogwarts named Rubeus Hagrid came to give me my letter and take me to buy my school things, the day the train left for Hogwarts a kind witch told me how to get onto the platform to board the train to Hogwarts, and off I went to school." Diana timidly raised her hand and Harry chuckled. "Yes, Diana?"

"I know you said to hold all questions 'til the end but I don't understand something." Harry nodded for her to continue. "If you were just a baby when your parents died and gran didn't like her sister so she probably didn't talk about her much, how'd you know about when your mum got her letter and about the prophecy and all?"

"I'll answer your questions and then go back to the story. You remember that boy Severus Snape?" Diana nodded. "He was my potions master at Hogwarts. I thought he loathed me for some reason and I later found out he did simply because he and my dad didn't get on when they were at school together, but it was also because he fell in love with my mum and never stopped loving her even though she and my dad fell in love and got married. There's a device called a pensieve that allows us to remove a memory from our minds and then view it again in the pensieve and walk around in the memory without altering it in any way. Just before Snape died, he pulled a string of memories from his mind and told me to view them. In his memory I watched the day he finally approached my mum and told her he knew she was a witch. In his memory I watched my mum floating down after jumping off a swing, Aunt Petunia telling her their mum had told her not to do that anymore, Snape telling my mum she was a witch and Aunt Petunia saying they weren't supposed to talk to him because he was 'that Snape boy'. There were also memories of his friendship with my mum while they were at school, including finding my mum curled up on the train crying because her sister was mad at her for reading her letter, even though she really hadn't wanted to; his regret when he realized that the wizard he'd sided with in the war planned to kill the woman he loved; and all the ways he worked behind the scenes to protect me and defeat Voldemort. As for the prophecy and all, I crossed paths with the man who betrayed my parents and he admitted doing so. Voldemort and his death eaters later tricked me into retrieving the prophecy from the Ministry of Magic because only the people a prophecy is about can retrieve it from the Hall of Prophecies but the orb that contained it shattered in a scuffle. However, the person the prophecy had been made to used a pensieve to let me hear the full prophecy afterwards." Ginny shuddered as she remembered their trip to the Department of Mysteries and Harry took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Harry's children were in complete awe at everything their father had done. Meanwhile Dudley and his parents were simply flabbergasted at the revelation. Simon timidly raised his hand and nervously looked Harry. He sighed but motioned for him to ask his question anyway.

"How old were you when you saw Snape's memories and tried to retrieve the prophecy orb?"

"Seventeen and fifteen. And let's hold any more questions for a while so I can get on with the explanation."


	7. Voldemort's Return

Harry glanced around the room briefly and waited for silence. His children were staring at him eagerly, anxious to hear the rest of the story. Joseph and Simon had similar expressions of eager anticipation but Diana's face clearly showed a mixture of curiosity and fear: curiosity about what would happen next in this story but also fear that it would be something dreadful, or at the very least something frightening. Anna wore an expression of grim determination. Harry's story was unsettling to her but as he was sitting right in front of her she reasoned that there must be a happy ending to this story.

Dudley's face was filled with awe and guilt. He had spent so many years tormenting his cousin on top of all the horrors and trials Harry had faced in his world simply because he hadn't died when some nutter had wanted him to. Vernon's face was pensive. All these years he'd thought of his nephew as a freak who'd put this family in danger simply by existing. Now it seemed that he'd misjudged the boy. If Harry could withstand everything he'd been through and somehow manage to come out alright, then maybe the boy was stronger than he'd ever realized or given him credit for.

Petunia's face was filled with fright and regret. She was so embarrassed and upset about Dumbeldore rejecting her request to attend Hogwarts and her sister finding out about it that she'd cut Lilly out of her life and made it a point to tune out her stories about what she got up to at that school of hers. She thought fate was having a laugh at her expense by leaving Lilly's son in her care. She never knew that Harry had survived simply because his mum loved him. She quickly glanced at Dudley as her mind raced. There wasn't anything in this world she wouldn't do for her son and, one mother to another, she knew Lilly had felt the same way about Harry, even going as far as willingly sacrificing herself for her son. She had done nothing to honor her sister's memory or sacrifice and there was nothing she could do now to make amends for her behavior. As silence settled over the room, Harry continued explaining why he was famous.

"Well then. I ended up coming face to face with Voldemort my first, second, fourth, and fifth years at Hogwarts and finally faced him for our final duel at Hogwarts when I was seventeen." Again Anna gasped with fright. "In my first year I learned that Voldemort hadn't entirely disappeared, he was simply waiting to find a potion or elixir that would allow him to return to a solid form instead of the vapor-like creature he currently was. He and I both also learned about the magical protection my mum had left me with that prevented evil, especially him, from touching me directly. In my second year I learned that he was a half-blood and that the night he tried to kill me he accidentally transferred some of his powers to me, specifically the ability to talk to snakes. That ability allowed me to open Slytherin's chamber and rescue Ginny, who Voldemort had managed to possess and take captive into the chamber." His children gasped and turned worried eyes towards their mother. Ginny shuddered and Harry pulled her more tightly into his side while she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Slytherin's monster was a basilisk, a dirty great snake that can kill its victim with its yellow-eyed stare and whose fangs are poisonous. I managed to kill it, which is a story for another day, and one of its fangs broke off. As the piece of Voldemort trapped in the diary tried to escape, I somehow worked out to pierce the diary with the fang and that killed the piece of Riddle that was in it, making the diary useless. The cursed diary Riddle left behind intrigued Dumbledore, who figured out that it was in fact not simply a cursed object but a horcrux."

"Killing another human being causes a piece of your soul to tear away. The only way to make it whole again is to feel true remorse for your actions. Only then will the torn piece of your soul remerge, albeit very painfully, with the rest of your soul, making you whole once more. Voldemort, however, felt no remorse after killing and learned how to trap the torn pieces of his soul inside various objects. The only reason Voldemort didn't die when the killing curse struck him is because he had several horcruxes by that time and so long as a person's horcrux remains intact, that person cannot be truly be killed. Dumbledore spent the next couple of years tracking down every memory he could find about Riddle from anyone, magical or muggle, who remembered him so he could figure out what other horcruxes existed."

"In the meantime, Voldemort's followers managed to devise a scheme to get me away from Hogwarts during my fourth year using a portkey and performed an incantation that restored Voldemort to a new body. They needed me because by taking some of my blood and using it in the potion that was brewed, Voldemort would be able to touch me with his bare hands." Lilly and Diana both gasped and put their hands to their mouths in shock while Anne began to tear up. Dudley put his arm around his wife to comfort her and she buried her face in his neck. She was liking magic less and less. Seeing her reaction and feeling the tension in the air, Harry decided to shorten some of the facts and quickly bring the story to an end.

"After I witnessed his return and told Dumbledore, we did our best to try and tell the rest of the wizarding world but as they were reluctant to give up fourteen years of relative peace and return to the fearful days of Voldemort's reign, Dumbledore and I, and anyone who listened to us, was basically labeled mental, until Voldemort revealed himself and the Minister of Magic was forced to admit Voldemort had in fact returned. Once word was officially out Voldemort and his followers infiltrated the Ministry and a second war ensued. Those who opposed Voldemort once again went underground or into hiding but some simply pretended to go along with Voldemort's changes at Hogwarts and the Ministry in order to protect people, magical **and** muggle, as best they could, because Voldemort and the death eaters went after muggle-borns, half-bloods, Dumbledore supporters, and muggles in general with a vengeance. Meanwhile I and my two best mates skipped out of our last year at Hogwarts to track down and destroy Voldemort's horcruxes that Dumbledore had uncovered, the last couple leading us back to Hogwarts and the final battle between the good guys and Voldemort's forces took place. In the end I faced Voldemort in a duel and won. When the dust settled that day, a lot of good men and women had lost their lives, Voldemort was gone for good, and our world was changed for the better."


	8. Mending Fences

The room was silent for several minutes once Harry finished speaking. It was broken by Kreacher apparating into the room in front of Harry.

"Will Master's guests be staying for dinner?" Kreacher asked. Harry looked at his relatives for an answer. Obtaining no response Harry asked them directly.

"Would you all like to join us for dinner?" Dudley and his wife shared a look. Not hearing a response right away, their children turned their heads to look at them hopefully. Seeing that their children wanted to stay a bit longer, Dudley nodded. "Yes, Kreacher, they'll be joining us. And I believe our guests might be in need of some more tea." Kreacher bowed and then promptly picked up the tea tray and apparated out of the room. Seeing that Harry's relatives were still too stunned to say much of anything, Ginny spoke up. She turned to her sons and separated them; they'd been punished long enough.

"Why don't you kids run along outside for a bit." Her children understood that she was giving them instructions to clear out for a while and did as she asked, their cousins following them outside. Ginny turned to see that Anna was still rather upset and gave her a reassuring smile. She quickly walked to the kitchen and then returned with a calming draught, handing it to Anna to drink. "It's a calming draught," Ginny explained. "It will help soothe your nerves." Anna gave her a grateful watery smile and downed the potion, her nerves settling almost instantly.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." There were several moments of awkward silence before Dudley spoke.

"Why haven't you cursed me yet?" Dudley asked sincerely, his voice full of confusion. His tone confused Harry.

"What do you mean?"

"After all the years I tormented you when we were boys just for being different and after everything you went through in your world, how can you just sit there and not want to use your magic to torment me back?" To Dudley's great surprise Harry started laughing. Once Harry managed to calm himself he looked at his cousin with a smile.

"Dudley, have you ever been through a war?" Dudley gave Harry a look of confusion, not quite understanding the question. "When you go through something like that, seeing your friends and loved ones die in battle or be killed on a maniac's whim, you reevaluate what's really important in life. On top of that, once you understand what motivates or drives your enemies, you can better understand their actions towards or against you. For example, once I understood why my aunt resented my mum, I understood why she treated me that way she did when I was growing up. It doesn't make the memories less painful but I was able to understand her point of view and come to terms with that part of my past. As for you and I, your attitude towards me changed after I rescued you from that dementor and I knew that even if we never became close after the war, we'd parted on good terms and so I laid our past to rest. I have no reason to hex you Dudley. I've come to terms with my past and I've moved on." Dudley hung his head.

"I still feel like I owe you a huge apology but the words 'I'm so sorry' just seem inadequate given everything you've been through, and all without the support of a family." Ginny huffed angrily and Harry kissed her temple in an attempt to soothe her ruffled feathers.

"I had a family to support me and I still do," Harry stated, smiling lovingly at Ginny. Ginny tore her narrowed eyes away from Dudley to look at her husband when she felt his gaze, her temper cooling slightly, as she smiled lovingly back at him. She then blushed as she remembered everything they'd been through together. Harry chuckled and decided to clue in his relatives. "I met Ginny's brother, Ron, on the train ride to Hogwarts my first year and we've been best mates ever since, although that might be because of all the dangerous adventures we've been through together." Ginny glared at Harry with slight irritation, never liking when he put himself in harm's way, but Harry simply smiled at her and gave her temple another kiss, earning a smile from her. "Since just before the start of my second year Ron's parents basically adopted me into their family. In addition to the Weasleys, for a brief period of time I had my godfather in my life, before his untimely death, as well as my dad's other best friend and an assortment of wizards and witches who were good friends of Dumbledore who became like aunts and uncles to me. So you see, Dudley, I wasn't entirely alone. They may not have been blood relatives but they were and still are my family." Anna smiled for the first time since Harry began telling his story.

"I'd be honored to be part of that family, if you'd be willing to have me that is." Harry smiled reassuringly at her.

"We are family, Anna. And since I gather we'll be seeing quite a bit of each other when we drop off and pick up our kids from the Hogwarts train, I suspect it's high time we start keeping in touch with each other." Anna looked at her husband hopefully and Dudley nodded in agreement. Kreacher reappeared with a replenished tea tray and then promptly disapparated once more. The adults helped themselves to tea and coffee before anyone spoke again. Anna noticed that Ginny was still glaring at her in-laws.

"Ginny?" Ginny ceased glaring to look at Anna.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you still angry with Vernon and Petunia? You keep glaring at them," Anna stated nervously, not sure if she was stepping on any toes or opening up old wounds. Ginny huffed angrily.

"My husband may have moved past the things they did to him but it still gets my dander up," she explained hotly. "I still just can't wrap my head around what kind of people treat their own nephew the way they did and on top of that they didn't even bother to thank Harry when he saved their son's life!" Ginny's face was turning red and Harry attempted to jump in and diffuse the tension; Petunia beat him to it.

"You don't know what it's like!" Petunia screeched, her voice thick with the strain of trying to hold back tears. "To find out your sibling can do all sorts of wonderful magical things and you can't! That she gets to go away to this wonderful school in a castle filled with friendly ghosts and old paintings and tapestries and learn all these things like how to turn saucers into tea cozies and all the while you have to go to a boring old school and learn subjects like math and science! Everything just sounded so wonderful and intriguing and I couldn't go because I was ordinary! And then to find out your sister found out you were jealous of her and wanted to go too but she wasn't allowed!? It wasn't fair, it was maddening! So maddening that I hated her for it, for being so….different. So I made myself a promise. I'd be the best ordinary person there was and have nothing to do with my weird sister and **her** world. And then Harry showed up on our doorstep and once again I was reminded of it all." Petunia was crying profusely by this point and Vernon, not knowingly all the hurt his wife had carried for all these years, simply enveloped her in a hug and did his best to try and comfort her. Dudley was stunned. Apparently his mother had a knack for keeping secrets buried for years. He turned surprised eyes towards Harry and saw that he and Ginny were surprised as well. Petunia managed to pull herself together after a few minutes. She dried her eyes with her handkerchief and looked at her nephew.

"I'm sorry, Harry." Harry stood and walked around the coffee table to the sofa where his aunt was seated and sat down beside her.

"I understand now, aunt. I get how uncomfortable it is to be on the outside looking in and I'm sure you might feel some of those emotions come back now that your grandson is going to Hogwarts, but maybe this time around you could try being more receptive to the things he tells you so you can be part of his world too?" Petunia gave him a watery smile.

"I'd like that very much." Harry smiled back at her and for the first time in his life, his aunt reached over and hugged him. Harry was momentarily shocked but quickly hugged her back, realizing that this was an enormous leap for her. Albus poked his head into the room just then and asked a question.

"We were just wondering if we could come back in now." Ginny smiled at his questioning look and nodded. They heard footsteps quickly run through the house to the back door and then Albus yelling to the others that they could come back in now. The adults all chuckled and the remaining tension in the room dissipated. The children rejoined them and Harry and Ginny were bombarded with questions from six children and four adults until dinner.


	9. Darkened Confessions

After a pleasant dinner, Harry apparated the Dursleys back to their street and accompanied them to their front door. The two families arranged to meet at King's Cross Station on September 1st and walk onto the platform together. That evening the Potter and Dursley households were relatively quiet as their occupants got ready for bed, everyone lost in thought. Joseph and his siblings fell asleep relatively quickly, their dreams filled with magical creatures and places, but Dudley and Anna laid awake for several hours after climbing into bed.

"Dudley?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Did you really torment Harry when you were boys?" Dudley sighed.

"Yes. My parents treated Harry like a freak and so I got away with treating him poorly," Dudley admitted dejectedly. "It wasn't until he'd used his magic to save my life that I started to wonder if my parents had been wrong about magic and Harry all along. Too bad I never got a chance to apologize until now." Anna turned onto her side so she could face her husband in the dark.

"How did you manage to fall out of touch?" she asked curiously.

"Just before Harry came of age a group of wizards came to take me and my parents into hiding. We were told that once Harry came of age the wizard who'd killed his parents would be able to find him again and they didn't want the three of us to get caught in the crossfire. The night we went into hiding was the last time I saw or heard from Harry until now." Anna moved over so she could snuggle next to her husband and offer him some sort of comfort.

"You must've been so worried and frightened, having to leave your home and friends behind." Dudley put an arm around his wife and smiled in the darkness.

"It **was** rather disconcerting at first, especially when I realized that even though Harry was the one in danger he wouldn't be coming with us. We went our separate ways with nothing more than a handshake." Anna gave her husband a reassuring squeeze.

"It sounds like Harry's forgiven you dear. Maybe it's time you forgave yourself." Dudley chuckled.

"I'll work on that." He leaned over and kissed Anna's forehead. "Sweet dreams dear."

"Sweet dreams."

Vernon and Petunia were likewise in bed wide awake. Even though Vernon realized that accepting magic was going to take some getting used to, his biggest surprise of the day was finding out that Petunia hadn't always hated magic. He loved his wife very deeply and so he decided he'd simply have to find a way to come to terms with that revelation. Even though the bedroom was dark, Vernon knew Petunia was still awake.

"Petunia?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" she replied, equally nervous and unsure.

"Are you alright dear?"

"No." Petunia snuggled closer to her husband. The minutes slowly ticked by before Vernon heard his wife say very quietly, "I miss her."

"Your sister?" Petunia nodded.

"We were very close as children. Even though I hated her as we grew older, part of me still missed my sister's laughter and company. All these years I just told myself that the more normal I began the less I'd miss her until eventually I wouldn't miss her at all. It was all well and good until Harry showed up on our doorstep with my sister's eyes. He was a constant reminder of how hurt, embarrassed and angry I was and so I simply took out my anger towards my sister on her child." She paused to sniffle and Vernon rubbed her back to comfort her. "Does that make me a horrible person?" Vernon shook his head and chuckled.

"Ironically, I believe your attitude towards Harry was perfectly normal. Without your sister around for you to scorn, you scorned the next best thing: her son." Vernon sighed. "After everything you told me about your sister and magic my actions towards the boy were pretty normal too. How else were two people who believed magic was dangerous supposed to behave towards someone who could do that kind of magic?" Petunia chuckled as well.

"I suppose you're right. Unfortunately, we were wrong." She took a deep breath and then sighed. "Do you think it's too late to make amends, Vernon?"

"I don't know, Petunia. But if Harry's willing to tolerate our presence and call us family, perhaps there's still hope for us I reckon." Petunia nodded in agreement and smiled.

"I suppose we can start making our amends beginning tomorrow."

"Agreed." Vernon kissed his wife's forehead. "Goodnight dear."

"Goodnight."

Back at the Potter household, the Potter children went to bed with their heads full of stories of their father's adventures. They couldn't wait to tell their cousins about them and hoped that tomorrow they could begin pestering their father for more details about some of those adventures. Harry and Ginny, meanwhile got ready for bed silently. Ginny still seemed a little ruffled as she brushed out her hair before bed. Harry was under the covers reading the Evening Prophet and glancing at his wife every few moments.

"What is it, Gin?" he finally asked.

"It's nothing," she replied tartly. Harry chuckled, causing her to glare at his reflection in their bedroom vanity.

"What?"

"I know that tone dear. Now, what is it?" Ginny snorted in a rather unladylike manner and then stood to walk over to their bed and climb under the covers. She settled herself comfortably and then turned a reproachful look on her husband.

"I get that you're trying to be the bigger person and all but did you have to forgive your aunt and uncle so easily? You at least could've demanded they sincerely apologize for their actions. It wouldn't have fixed everything but it would've been a start," she stated rather heatedly. Harry smiled and kissed her.

"Gin, I meant what I said. After going through what I went through during the war, I realized that some things just aren't worth holding a grudge about. I showed you everything I went through with my Pensieve and you saw Snape's memories too." Ginny nodded in agreement but a scowl remained on her face. "Sweetheart, for the first ten years of my life I was on the outside looking in while I lived with my aunt and uncle and I hated feeling like I was different so I get how my aunt must've felt not being able to be a part of my mum's world, at least not entirely." Ginny opened her mouth to speak but Harry continued explaining himself before she could utter a word. "It doesn't excuse her attitude or actions towards me but I get it. It's the same reason I don't hate Draco and his mum or Percy." At this Ginny's eyes got wide and her eyes clouded with confusion, causing Harry to chuckle. "Remember how Percy said that once he realized he'd chosen the wrong side he had a devil of a time getting back onto the right one?" Ginny nodded. "Well Narcissa felt the same way. She and Draco were forced to do **some** of the things they did simply to avoid Voldemort's wrath. My aunt and uncle had the wrong impression of magic and they're only now reconsidering it because someone they dearly love turned out to be a wizard." Ginny sighed, giving into Harry's reasoning, but her eyes clearly said she wasn't happy about it. Harry put his arm around his wife and pulled her close to him and she put her arms around his waist.

"Why are you such a saint?"

"Would you want me to be any other way?" Ginny giggled.

"Of course not." She looked up at her husband and leaned in to give him a kiss; he met her halfway. "I love you, Harry, and because I do I'll try my best to forgive your aunt and uncle."

"Thank you."

"Just don't expect it to happen overnight," she informed him sharply. Harry smiled. Ginny's temper was just one of the many things he loved and feared about his wife.

"Of course not." They shared another kiss before Harry waved his wand and extinguished their bedside lamps. They lied down and got more comfortable before drifting off to sleep.


	10. Off To Hogwarts

September 1st was sunny with a crisp chillness in the air and the Dursley household was a flurry of activity. Petunia and Vernon had driven down to see Joseph off to Hogwarts and the house was buzzing with excitement. Petunia insisted on taking picture after picture and Anna kept rechecking Joseph's trunk to make sure he hadn't forgotten to pack anything. Dudley checked his watch and saw that it was time to head out. The seven Dursleys spilled out of the house and piled into their cars to head to King's Cross Station. They made the short drive to the station and Dudley quickly found a trolley for Joseph's cart while the others looked for Harry and his family.

"I see them!" Diana said excitedly, pointing towards the main entrance. "Lilly!" she called to her cousin. Lilly turned around to see who had called her and quickly spotted Diana, waving back enthusiastically as the Dursleys made their way over.

"Ready?" Harry asked with a smile. Joseph nodded quickly, his face filled with excitement. "We'll need to go in small groups so we don't attract attention." The group quickly made their way to platform 9 and then Harry stopped and turned towards his relatives to explain how to get on the platform. "What you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten and believe that you won't crash into it." Anna looked slightly nervous and Ginny smiled at her.

"It's best to do it at a run the first time if you're nervous."

"James, take Simon with you and Albus you take Diana. Wait for the rest of us off to the side after you pass through." James nodded and motioned for his cousin Simon to climb onto his trolley. He then quickly pushed his trolley onto the platform. Albus motioned for Diana to do the same and quickly followed his brother once Diana was seated on top of his trunk. Harry motioned for Joseph and Anna to go next. They steeled themselves and then, with a reassuring glance and smile at each other, quickly walked into the barrier. Their mouths fell open when they realized that they had succeeded.

"Over here," James called to them from just off to their left. They quickly joined the small group and waited as Vernon and Petunia, Ginny and Lilly, and finally Harry and Dudley came through the barrier.

"Over there!" Lilly called out excitedly, having spotted someone she knew. The small group made their way over and stopped near Ron and Hermione, who turned when they heard trolleys approaching them.

"Hey, Harry," Ron greeted his best friend. "Brought the whole lot I see," he said with a smile. The Dursleys had spent the remainder of the summer getting to know the rest of Harry's family and friends and so they were well acquainted with Ron, Hermione and their children by this point. Everyone smiled and then the adults helped the children settle their trunks and cages into compartments, the Dursleys eagerly taking in the sights and sounds around them. It was one thing to know that there were many magical children who attended Hogwarts but it was another to see a train bustling with young witches and wizards and to see and hear them conversing with their magical parents. As they stepped out of the compartment they were in, a young girl stuck her head out of the compartment next to them and called to her mother in a slight panic.

"Mum!" A woman a little further down the aisle turned to look at her.

"Yes dear?"

"I forgot to pack Glendora's owl treats! I went to get one for her so she'd calm down some and I can't find them in my trunk!" The woman rolled her eyes and walked back towards her daughter.

"Honestly, Gerty, you always say you can't find what's right under your nose." The group made their way off the train and Harry checked his pocket watch.

"It's almost time," he informed everyone. The parents called their children to them for last minute hugs and instructions. Ginny gave James a stern expression.

"Regardless of the adventures your father, aunt and uncle had, behave yourself. And try to keep an eye out for your siblings and cousins. Don't badger them but don't let anyone bully them either. Understood?" James nodded but Ginny could see a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"You'll write me won't you?" Lilly asked her father." Harry pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Of course we will sweetheart. And don't worry. It'll be Christmas break before you know it."

"Write me too," Diana said to Joseph. "I wanna hear all about Hogwarts and….well, everything!" She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tight. Joseph laughed and hugged her back while Simon nodded his head rapidly in agreement. The train whistle sounded and the children quickly climbed aboard. Harry securely shut the door and they all leaned out of it or nearby windows to wave to their parents. The Dursleys followed the train, waving, until they'd reached the end of the platform and couldn't see Joseph anymore. Anna had tears in her eyes when she'd rejoined Harry and Ginny.

"Does this get any easier?" she asked. Harry and Ginny shook their heads but they were smiling.

"It's never easy to watch your children leave you, but knowing that they're safe and off to have splendid adventures of their own takes some of the sting out of it." Harry took his wife's hand while Dudley took Anna's and Vernon took Petunia's. The six of them and Simon and Diana waited until the guard told them they could pass through. Once on the other side, they casually made their way to the main entrance.

"This changes everything you know," Dudley said to no one in particular.

"How do you mean Dudley?" Harry asked, casually glancing over his shoulder at his cousin. Dudley smiled.

"It was almost like karma decided we needed to change our minds about magic and so Joseph was born a wizard. And now we have a chance to be a part of two worlds instead of just the one." Harry and Ginny chuckled.

"Funny how that works sometimes," Ginny said with a laugh.

"Perhaps this is just karma's way of giving us all a second chance to be a family," Petunia mused.

"Then I guess we'll just have to make sure we don't take this second chance for granted," Harry told his aunt with a smile. Everyone shared a smile at Harry's statement, very much liking the idea of repairing and strengthening their family. If magic didn't have to be something bad or painful, maybe karma wasn't either.

**THE END**


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